Entertainment 2000: Supporting female stars will bring you a hundredfold return

Chapter 326 Aiming at Marvel, Who Will Be the Fish on the Tennis Court? (Please Subscribe)

Alyssa Chia has a clear plan for everything she does.

Before meeting Xuanxuan.

She looked through some documents and read past media reports to learn about Xuanxuan's income.

As a top-tier actress at TVB.

Xuanxuan has a big reputation, but her actual income is not high.

No movie resources available.

TVB is full of talented people.

If he doesn't join a production team, TVB will only pay him less than HK$1.

To get TV drama resources outside of Taiwan, they have to compete with stars from Taiwan and mainland China. Even top actresses from TVB don't have an easy time getting resources.

Xuanxuan's asking price for one episode of a TV series is HK$3 to HK$5.

Advertising endorsements and commercial performances are not priced high in Hong Kong, a city teeming with celebrities.

According to Hong Kong media reports, her income in 2002 was approximately HK$300 million.

If she can get the second female lead role in "Mysterious Heart Secrets", she will have more than 30 episodes of screen time.

Based on a salary of 5 yuan per episode, the income from this series is equivalent to her earnings for half a year last year.

The next morning, as expected.

Jia Jingwen received a text message from Xuanxuan: "President Jia, I'm going to America with you."

"Send me the message, and I'll buy you a plane ticket." Jia Jingwen smiled slightly.

Hollywood, Galaxy Entertainment.

Tang Wen and Robert, along with Lin Chih-ling, executives, lawyers, and accountants, were holding a meeting regarding the acquisition of Marvel.

From Tang Wen's proposal to acquire Marvel, to the completion of the investigation, to the establishment of the company and the injection of 200 million US dollars.

It only took three days in total.

This level of efficiency can be said to have surpassed all Hollywood studios, large, medium, and small.

The company was run by Tang Wen, who had complete trust in him and was an excellent CEO.

Marvel is a long-established company founded in 1938.

After undergoing bankruptcy reorganization in 96, the shareholding structure became very clear.

The founder, Stan Lee's daughter Joan Lee, holds a 19% stake.

“We investigated this woman, and she lived a life of extravagance; the money Old Stan left her was simply not enough to cover her expenses.”

While Marvel shares are her most important asset, they are not non-saleable.

The current CEO, and the de facto controller, Ike Piermut, despises her.

Since Ike owns more than 50% of the company, Joan Lee has no influence over Marvel.

Having shares doesn't give you any say in the matter, let alone any benefit.

Tang Wen knew this woman was an oddball; she would definitely sell her shares if given the money.

"Complete the acquisition from her as soon as possible, with a reasonable premium, and ask Merrill Lynch to act as an intermediary to negotiate with her."

However, it's important to note that when signing the contract, you should have several lawyers notarize it!

At the same time, she was asked to appear on camera and give interviews, explaining that she was very satisfied with the deal…

The acquisition team immediately noted down Tang Wen's instructions.

As for the purpose.

I could guess that.

Joan Lee's finances were in a complete mess, and she eventually reached the point of desperation, while Tang Wen continued to develop "Marvel" very well.

Given the other party's shameless nature, they will definitely come out and renege on the deal, demanding to share the profits.

Tang Wen's arrangement was to block the other party's path of unreasonable trouble-making.

He added, "At the same time, we need to review all of Marvel's past agreements with founder Stan Lee. If any are not in our interests, they must be scrapped before we acquire the company."

"Understood!" the executive replied decisively.

Tang Wen, however, was not at ease.

He vaguely remembered a news report that Marvel had signed an agreement with its founder, Stan Lee, very early on. The agreement stipulated that after a character he created was adapted into a film or television series, he would receive 10% of Marvel's total profits!

It might have been reasonable years ago, but in Tang Wen's eyes, it was utterly absurd!
Stan Lee is worthless and should not be paid a penny more.

He made that point out directly.

The executives at Galaxy Entertainment were secretly impressed by Tang Wen's excellent information network and quickly jotted it down in their memos.

Regarding this agreement, Tang Wen continued:

"To my knowledge, Stan Lee did not receive any revenue share from Sony Pictures' Spider-Man series, nor from 20th Century Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four films."

This is a vulnerability!
We need to find a way to utilize these assets and reclaim any that were mortgaged or sold after the acquisition!

Everyone suddenly realized Tang Wen's true intention.

Use this agreement to cause trouble for Sony and 20th Century Fox.

Make them renounce more benefits.

That's a good idea.

But Tang Wen's real goal is "Iron Man," which is currently in Universal's hands.

This character is currently considered a second-tier Marvel hero.

They were not favored by Marvel and Universal.

Tang Wen was quite confident that he could bring "Iron Man" back ahead of schedule.

At worst, I'll just have to pay a little cash.

The acquisition team continued to provide updates:

“Avi Arad, who is eager to bring Marvel to the screen, is the current chairman and holds a small number of shares, about 5%. He is passionate about Marvel and is the least likely person to sell his shares.”

Tang Wen neither confirmed nor denied it; later, this person left Marvel.

Marvel's rise is related to him, but not by much.

The best thing he's done so far has been choosing a qualified successor and consistently persuading the de facto controller, Ike Pilmutter, not to sell his shares.

It should be adapted into a film or television series; let's take a big gamble.

"Finally, there's Ike Piermut, who is the absolute controlling shareholder. Our investigation revealed that almost all of his wealth comes from Marvel shares. His other assets are negligible."

At the same time, he is an extremely frugal person, one could even say frugal to the point of being stingy.

For example, he required in the company that the paperclips used to secure documents be recycled and reused after the documents were destroyed…

These words immediately filled the meeting room with a cheerful atmosphere.

They are indeed stingy, and this can be taken advantage of.

Tang Wen smiled and knew that the only food provided at the movie premiere was potato chips.

Extremely frugal.

Furthermore, this person's desire to sell shares, cash out, and leave the market was deeply ingrained; he had been waiting for an opportunity since the 90s.

The investigation team also stated, "He was very inclined to sell his shares."

"Contact him privately first, and it would be best to reach an agreement before the formal meeting between the two parties." Marvel's stock price is not high, but the acquisition will definitely have a considerable premium.

It's not that its current total market value is less than 200 million US dollars, and that it can be acquired for 200 million.

Because its core value lies in being a "classic character" that has accompanied generations of Americans.

The premium is normal!

In addition to normal business channels, Tang Wen was also looking for other ways.

For example, could we take some off-field actions against the actual controller, Ike?
The meeting has ended.

Robert and Ike had a preliminary meeting.

The two chatted for an entire afternoon, starting with superheroes from their childhood memories, rambling on for two hours until Ike grew impatient.

Robert then brought up the acquisition issue.

Ekko, who had been eager to cash out, immediately became interested...

Meanwhile, a tennis court at a high-end sports club in Los Angeles.

Tang Wen held his racket, idly gazing at the sky.

He was dressed in sportswear, exuding youthful vigor.

The ladies around the stadium all turned their eyes to him, their hearts filled with excitement, wanting to come up and strike up a conversation.

In fact, since he started playing tennis, Tang Wen has turned down dozens, even hundreds, of enthusiastic invitations from women.

But they did not give up.

Every day, people keep coming to ask him for his contact information, or more directly, to ask him out for a drink.

Did they want to drink?

The innocent Director Tang was too embarrassed to say what they wanted to drink!

While idly playing with his racket, he casually declined an invitation from a beautiful woman.

Tang Wen occasionally glanced at another practice field.

Sarah Getty, the eldest daughter of the Getty family, is Robert's target for conquest.

They are practicing specific serves under the coach's guidance.

After a while, it was break time.

Sarah Getty's female coach handed her a bottle of blue sports drink, then turned her gaze to Tang Wen: "Tang, it looks like I'm looking at you."

“Really?” Sarah Getty turned her head and met Tang Wen’s gaze. From a distance, Tang Wen swung his racket.

Consider it a greeting.

Sarah Getty, the stunningly beautiful dark-haired woman, said with sparkling eyes, "He's really paying attention to me."

"Why don't you go give it a try? You've been single for a long time, maybe you'll have a chance."

"Well, he rejected many people." As a rich girl and a great beauty.

Sarah Getty's self-esteem was severely damaged.

If Tang Wen came to ask her out, she would definitely agree.

However, actively asking a man out in public carries a high risk of being rejected.

This made her hesitate.

The female coach shrugged: "You're the prettiest woman in this club. If you're not good enough, then it means he doesn't want to find women here at all."

If I were you, I would definitely give it a try. After all, he's Tang! Countless young girls are crazy about him!

She and Sarah Getty have known each other for a long time.

Besides being coaches, they occasionally go out to eat together.

We are friends.

As Sarah's friend, she could tell that the other woman had long been attracted to Don.

Sarah and Tang Wen often came to the club at the same time.

Moreover, both of them prefer quiet venues, and they often practice very close to each other.

After a while, they got to know each other.

Nod frequently and say hello.

Watching Tang Wen's figure, Sarah hesitated, as he became a powerful figure in the IRS in California.

She has endless tasks to handle every day.

He devoted himself entirely to his work.

Whenever I have free time, I either spend it with my daughter or exercise to stay in shape.

It has indeed been a long time since I've received any stimulation from the opposite sex.

After all, his family had put in a lot of effort to get him to his current position.

Furthermore, there are quite a few people eyeing her position.

She had quite a few suitors, and these men, who seemed to be quite eligible, were among those who approached her.

Unable to ascertain the other party's background and intentions, she was unwilling to engage in further contact.

However, Tang Wen in front of her attracted her in every way!
She used her position to learn about the tax payment situation of the other party's company and individuals.

The conclusion is—it's practically perfect.

Even if the IRS wanted to cause him trouble, they wouldn't know where to start.

Of course, this refers to situations where there's no way to proceed within the rules.

If you're determined to get rid of him, then sacrificing one employee is acceptable.

However, doing so carries extremely high risks, because you are instructing your employees to insist that there is a problem and forcibly launch an investigation.

As a billionaire, Tang Wen could offer even greater benefits to induce his employees to defect...

In the end, it's uncertain who will emerge victorious.

This is also a consensus in American society: don't make enemies of billionaires.

Lost in her thoughts, Sarah sipped her drink from the bottle, her eyes involuntarily glancing at Tang Wen.

Tang Wen was hitting the ball against the wall when he noticed her gaze.

He smiled at her.

This gave Sarah courage: if she missed Tang Wen, she didn't know when she would meet another man who satisfied her and who would never try to take advantage of her.

Sarah glanced at the female coach: "If I come back alone later..."

The female coach understood what she meant: "Of course I won't laugh at you, and I'll even buy you a drink!"

"Okay, but hopefully I'll be the one buying you a drink."

After Sarah Getty finished speaking, she slowly exhaled and strode towards Tang Wen's training ground, carrying her racket.

"Tang! Why are you all alone today?"

"The coach's child was sick, so he stood me up."

Having successfully struck up a conversation, Sarah glanced back at her coach, put her hands behind her back, and gestured to him.

The female coach was surprised: Was there really hope?

She understood the gesture, immediately packed her golf bag, and headed outside.

Sarah shrugged at Tang Wen: "We're in the same boat. My coach is going to leave us first too."

"You're all alone now, how about we play a round?" Tang Wen smiled slightly: the fish had taken the bait.

He didn't believe a word of the coach's excuse that he was leaving.

Sarah was greatly encouraged; to be honest, she hadn't had high hopes before coming here.

Tang Wen has rejected too many women, many of whom are young and beautiful.

That is precisely why.

After Tang Wen extended the invitation, Sarah felt surprisingly flattered.

Looking around, he noticed the women around him staring at him, muttering to themselves, their eyes filled with jealousy.

Sarah laughed even more heartily.

He rejected all women, but accepted himself the only one.

In a woman's mind, this is a tremendous victory.

"Bang, bang, bang"

The tennis ball bounces back and forth.

Both of them were surprised.

The opponent's tennis level exceeded their expectations.

Needless to say, Tang Wen's tennis skills have reached a master level.

He plays very casually; if he wants, he can go toe-to-toe with any player of any level.

Sarah is already at the level of an amateur player.

In a community competition, it is possible to win without professional players participating.

"Wow, you're awesome!" Sarah shouted as she hit the ball, and the women around her, looking at her, were already cursing.

Sarah didn't care at all. After a few probing serves, she discovered that Tang Wen's level was far superior to hers.

No matter how I attack, my opponent can always catch me.

Moreover, the returned ball is challenging enough without being too difficult.

“My God, you really should go pro,” Sarah’s voice kept coming.

Half an hour later, the sports bra was completely soaked.

The fair skin on her chest was covered with a layer of sweat.

She stopped the match, leaning on her racket, sweat dripping down her face.

"Thank you for coming over. I had a great game today." Tang Wen stepped forward and shook her hand.

A faint smell of sweat mixed with male hormones wafted towards me.

Sarah took a deep breath, knowing that Tang Wen would say goodbye after letting go of her hand.

She really didn't want to miss the opportunity, so she asked, "It's getting late, are you free tonight?"

The setting sun sank into the sky, casting a magnificent crimson glow on the clouds.

Sarah held her breath, her heart pounding in her chest.

He secretly scolded himself for being too impatient.

We should have played a few more rounds before inviting them.

Tang Wen laughed and said, "Unless you know of a quiet and private bar, you'll be on tomorrow's entertainment news."

"Of course! I know a great place."

"Okay, see you after you shower."

"Okay, see you later." Sarah's lips curled up, unable to suppress the smile.

In less than half an hour, she finished applying light makeup and got into her car with Tang Wen.

An understated Cadillac.

Judging from the weight of the doors and the thickness of the glass, it's easy to deduce that this is a bulletproof car.

The two chatted about work and life, which helped them understand each other better.

Tang Wen told a joke that wasn't very funny.

Sarah laughed so hard she almost fell over. She finally managed to stop laughing, and when she turned her head, their eyes met, and the temperature inside the car instantly rose!

hot--

too hot.

The car sped through the traffic light, Sarah pulled over to the side of the road, took off her coat, revealing her sports bra, and lunged at the passenger seat.

(End of this chapter)